Thousands of punters made their way to The Big Pineapple Festival on Saturday and despite heavy rain on the Sunshine Coast the night before, the sun was shining, the wind was refreshing and the festival outfits were on point. Hosting a lineup of incredible bands such as Dune Rates, Illy, Violent Soho and The Preatures it was destined to be a fantastic day and it sure was.
DOOLIE
I was at the festival pretty early and I wasn’t sure who to see so I took a seat at the Pineapple Express stage to watch electro-pop princess Doolie. I was immediately sucked into her performance by her beautiful voice and trance like tunes so I ended up staying for her entire set. Playing songs such as Exhale and KØLD, Doolie sung her heart out hitting impossible notes and drawing in every punter who came out to see her. She was electric yet relaxed, emotional yet soothing, I couldn’t look away and I didn’t want to. Doolie performed like a seasoned pro and I guarantee we will be seeing bigger things from her really soon.
PANDAMIC
I had been waiting for years to see Rockhampton 3 piece Pandamic and they did not disappoint. Their infectious indie surf rock sound had the crowd leaping around and singing at the top of their lungs right from the start of their set. Playing tracks such as Sandy and Scumbag showcased their talent for both fast paced heavy rock tracks and slow indie ballads. With the sun warming up our backs and people flocking down the hill, Pandamic put on the perfect early afternoon set on the triple j stage. The boys rocked out like there was no tomorrow, their music gave off a relaxed vibe but the way they played was very powerful and addictive. Popular singles such as SAM and Heck sent hands flying up to the sky in worship as the crowd sung along closing their set on a high.
HOBO MAGIC
It was my first time seeing Hobo Magic live and its hard to put into words what I experienced because it was like they transported me to another world. It was as if the air was suddenly made with alcohol, eyeliner and cigarettes because their psychedelic infused rock tunes started to make me feel high. The newly formed 3 piece have been taking the music world by storm and from the show they gave us at Big Pineapple Festival it’s clear why everyone loves them. Every member showcased such raw and untouched talent, they played every note as if it may be their last throwing their bodies on the line in the name of rock! Playing tracks such as The Holy Riff, Hobo Magic and Lady Of The Groove the crowd was memorised, there wasn’t a still body around. Heads were bobbing, fans were moshing, it was a full on out of body experience that has left me hungry for more.
ALLDAY
The start of Allday’s set was rough. He managed to play an entire song with his mic off, but because he could hear himself through the foldbacks he didn’t realise we couldn’t hear him. By the second song the sound was finally sorted (it definitely took way to long to fix) and Allday continued through his set like nothing had even happened. Smashing through single Sides with the whole crowd getting behind him Allday leapt around the stage throwing his body to the beat and his heart into the rhymes he was spitting. Classic tracks such as Claude Monet and You Always Know The DJ were definitely crowd favourites and everyone went wild when Allday brought out female emcee Mallrat for single Baby Spiders. So despite a rocky start Allday did well to recover and he gave everything he had into his performance regardless of its set backs.
DUNE RATS
Gold Coast kings of surf rock Dune Rats will never grow up and there will never be a time where I miss seeing them perform, even now when I have seen them at least 8 times before. Their insane energy on stage and all round good guy vibe makes for some of the funniest and most exciting live performances I’ve seen to date. With people flooding from all angles the crowd quickly turned into a massive mosh of screaming, singing and head bobbing fans that new every word to every song off my heart. Ripping into singles 6 Pack and Fuck It the Dunies played tighter than ever before. Buzz-Kill, Never Gonna Get High, Superman, Red Light Green Light, the list goes on. Track after track the energy from both the crowd and the band kept building until everyone near on exploded when the boys whipped into single Scott Green. There is something about Danny, Brett and BC that lights a musical fire that most bands could only dream of creating, and they do it effortlessly. Watching the Dune Rats is like being initiated into a frat party for musicians, you become apart of a family and what a bloody family it is.
ILLY
Even though Illy hasn’t released any new music lately I was still pumped to catch him live. I had seen Illy perform multiple times before but this show was by far the best I’ve ever seen. Illy was completely on top of his game, taking the stage and making it his and the crowd was following his every move. You can’t help but sing along to singles such as One For The City and Youngbloods but to be honest Illy could have played Jingle Bell Rock from start to finish and the crowd would have still been glued to him. With the audience on high alert Illy smashed through singles such as his triple j like a version, Oh My ft. Jenna Mcdougall, On & On and the classic Swear Jar. Making his way from one side of the stage to the other Illy threw his arms around in time with the beat as he leapt metres in the air. You would think he would of been exhausted but not one note or lyric was out of time and not one second of his performance lacked energy. Starting his signature “Say Hell Yeah'” chant Illy got the crowd involved before transitioning into fan favourites Catch 22 and Papercuts. He also treated the fans to his cover of single High by Peking Duk where he raps over the verses and then lets the explosive electro chorus take over. Illy was definitely the highlight of the day due to his energy and all round passionate performance, it was flawless.
VIOLENT SOHO
Another band that I have seen several times before is Brisbane grunge rockers Violent Soho. But with lead singer Luke’s raspy vocals, Luke the bassists continuous hair flicks and Michael and James’s unruly high energy you have an act that no matter how many times you see them will never get old. Playing all of their hits such as Jesus Stole My Girlfriend, Dope Calypso, Saramona Says and a whole heap more, Soho had the crowd wrapped around their little finger and there was no way they were going to let that go. The biggest surprise of them all is when Soho debuted a brand new single called Pick It Up Again, the first new content fans have heard from the band since they released ‘WACO’ in 2016. For the duration of their set fans sung at the top of their lungs, there wasn’t a song they didn’t know or a track they couldn’t rock out to. The boys finished their set with most popular single Covered In Chrome and other fan favourite OK Catherdral. The boys played tighter than ever and after a well needed and deserved break for a few months the boys smashed their Big Pineapple set just like every time before.
All round the festival was an absolute breeze. Numbers were the perfect amount, the lineup was sick, the weather was awesome and the festival/stage layout was easy and smooth to navigate. My only complaint was how little toilets they had per person. Wait time was ridiculous and with no one maintaining them there was no toilet paper and half of them were so full they could no longer be flushed. Besides that everything else was killer including the free ferris wheel, the tasty coffee, the sick beats and the relaxed atmosphere. Here’s to next year Pineys!
